“You’re wearing that?” Anna asked about twenty minutes later as she came out of the bathroom. I was completely dressed and ready, my hair tucked firmly into place so it wouldn’t be a hindrance. Her hair was still in curlers, and she was in her bathrobe, taking her sweet time.
I looked down at my green dress. It really wasn’t appropriate for church, but we weren’t going to church. Instead of making excuses, I simply shrugged and said, “Yes.”
Anna lifted an eyebrow and then went to the desk, humming.
“Can you hurry?” I asked, looking outside. Which way would the planes come from? The northwest? Probably, since Japan was northwest of Hawaii. Even now they were in the air, on their way to Pearl Harbor.
My heart was pumping so hard, I was afraid I might have a panic attack. Knowing what would happen was pure insanity. I never wanted to know the future again. I prayed that God would spare Pearl Harbor, though I knew it was futile. It had to happen so the war would start and Hitler would be defeated.
What a horrible waste of humanity.
“Why should I hurry?” Anna glanced at the clock as she applied powder to her nose and cheeks. “We don’t need to be at church until nine.”
It was now 7:44.
“Please hurry, Anna. I want to grab something to eat before we go.”
“Go ahead. I’ll come to the dining room when I’m ready.”
I didn’t want to leave her—not today. “I’ll wait, but hurry.”
She must have heard the urgency in my voice because she started to take out her curlers. I walked over to the desk to assist her.
I couldn’t help but glance at the clock and the porthole—waiting, breathless, thinking of the thousands who were unaware of the great suffering they were about to endure. These were their last few minutes on earth. Tears stung the back of my eyes again.
Anna’s hand paused on a curler, and a sickly expression came over her face. “You know something, don’t you?”
My gaze snapped back to her in the mirror, and there was no use pretending anymore.
“You’ve always known.” Her voice and hands shook as she set the curler on the desk and turned to me. “Ever since we were asked to come to Pearl Harbor, you’ve known something big was going to happen, didn’t you?”
“Anna, you need to get dressed. Now. We only have minutes.”
Panic filled her face. “What do you mean, ‘minutes’?”
I finished taking out her curlers and ran to her closet to pull out the first dress I found. “Hurry, Anna. Please.”
She ran her brush through her hair and then tied a ribbon around it, watching me. “Tell me.”
I threw her dress on the desk and grabbed a pair of her stockings and her garter belt, tossing them onto the dress, then went for her shoes. “We’re about to watch the most horrific event in American history unfold in the next few hours,” I said just above a whisper. The clock said 7:50. “Japan will attack Pearl Harbor, and thousands will die and many more will be severely injured.”
She stood, but she had to grasp the back of her chair.
“We have only five minutes before the first strike. Over athousand men will die on theArizonaalone. Our sailors will need us.”
“What about theSolace?” she asked, her face turning pale. “What about Timothy?”
“I don’t know. I tried not to learn too much.”
She looked like she might throw up, and I didn’t blame her. I was afraid I might too.
What if someone else I loved died today? What ifIdied?
Anna was dressed in a flash and was just putting her feet into her shoes when we heard the airplanes approach Pearl Harbor, flying low. I ran to the porthole and saw the first Japanese airplane with the telltale red sun under the wing.
The plane was so close, the pilot turned to look at me, and I could make out his features around the goggles he wore.
He waved.
